From Software to Academia: Langdon White’s Mission for Inclusive Data Science
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“I developed a class called DS 100, which is in a lot of ways very similar [to Data 8], with the primary objective being, I want people to walk away from the class with saying I understand what data science is. I can do a little bit of programming, and now it's up to me whether I think it's interesting or not. I don't want anyone ever to feel like they can't do it. It's just whether or not they enjoy doing it.”
In this episode, we sit down with Langdon White from Boston University to discuss his journey from software consulting to becoming a key figure in BU's growing data science program, starting off with BU Spark! He shares the challenges of expanding a data science curriculum, including the launch of new programs, and his overarching mission to make data science accessible to students of all backgrounds. Langdon also explores innovative teaching methods like experiential learning and gamification, while highlighting the importance of diversity, ethics, and inclusivity in data science education.
“I continue to think that our biggest challenge in this industry is making sure that we have representation from all backgrounds, right?…Every student should be walking out of the school with an expectation of inclusion and diversity, but also ethics. And that the ethics falls to you…and you know, encouraging students to step up and represent themselves, from an ethical perspective, an inclusion perspective, and the diversity perspective.”
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